Okay, normally I wouldn't bother you with "japanese jobbers LULZ", but this guy is arguably the world wide wrestler of the year, not just in Japan. Also, the breakout star of the year, no doubt about it. He was a hot rookie/young lion in NJPW back in 2009, and then he went to the foreign international excursion, to adapt various styles, and to learn things. Of course, TNA made him into a mockery (Okato, lawls), but fortunately, he returned to New Japan at the end of 2011, and right after Hiroshi Tanahashi retained his IWGP Heavyweight title at Tokyo Dome (January 4th 2012), he challenged him for the strap. Shocking!
Everyone, including me, thought he's just a filler opponent for Tanahashi, but he shook the foundations of Puroresu by dethroning him. It was an excellent match (****1/4), and Tanahashi couldn't survive the Rainmaker (finishing move), which have become the most protected finisher in Puro today.
The match:
[video=dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xoof6s_kazuchika-okada-vs-hiroshi-tanahashi-c-njpw_sport?search_algo=2[/video]
His reign was relatively short (4 months), but very strong, newsworthy and packed with Super No Vacancies and star power. He had two successful defenses, against Naito (five star match), and Goto (***3/4).
The matches:
[video=dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xrd485_kazuchika-okada-c-vs-hirooki-goto-njpw_sport?search_algo=2#.UMnOGKwfg1s[/video]
Then June came, and it was the time for the rematch of the year - Okada vs. Tanahashi II. Another stellar match, but unfortunately for Okada, Tanahashi prevailed and regained the title, but Okada looked damn strong in the loss:
[video=dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xt4qzu_hiroshi-tanahashi-vs-kazuchika-okada-c-njpw_sport?search_algo=2#.UMnOnawfg1s[/video]
But luckily, that wasn't the end of his push, because he won the huge annual G1 Climax tournament, having some really strong matches left and reight, here's the Finals match against "The Machinegun" Karl Anderson:
[video=dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xt3dse_kazuchika-okada-vs-karl-machine-gun-anderson-njpw-new-hq-version_sport?search_algo=2#.UMnPH6wfg1s[/video]
The rest of the year saw him defending his IWGP title shot earned by the G1 victory against the likes of Karl Anderson and Hirooki Goto:
Fans and press recognized his greatness, hence they chose him as the Wrestler of the Year:
And now he's heading into 2013 with big plans on his mind, the first and the biggest step is the rubber match against Hiroshi Tanahashi, for the biggest strap in Japan. Will the torch be passed, will Okada become the new ace of the company? The biggest match of our age:
Sorry on tl;dr, but "The Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada is just an insanely great wrestler, and deserves his own worship thread. The master in storytelling department, strategies, psychology, etc. ~SWAG!~
Everyone, including me, thought he's just a filler opponent for Tanahashi, but he shook the foundations of Puroresu by dethroning him. It was an excellent match (****1/4), and Tanahashi couldn't survive the Rainmaker (finishing move), which have become the most protected finisher in Puro today.
The match:
[video=dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xoof6s_kazuchika-okada-vs-hiroshi-tanahashi-c-njpw_sport?search_algo=2[/video]
His reign was relatively short (4 months), but very strong, newsworthy and packed with Super No Vacancies and star power. He had two successful defenses, against Naito (five star match), and Goto (***3/4).
The matches:
[video=dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xrd485_kazuchika-okada-c-vs-hirooki-goto-njpw_sport?search_algo=2#.UMnOGKwfg1s[/video]
Then June came, and it was the time for the rematch of the year - Okada vs. Tanahashi II. Another stellar match, but unfortunately for Okada, Tanahashi prevailed and regained the title, but Okada looked damn strong in the loss:
[video=dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xt4qzu_hiroshi-tanahashi-vs-kazuchika-okada-c-njpw_sport?search_algo=2#.UMnOnawfg1s[/video]
But luckily, that wasn't the end of his push, because he won the huge annual G1 Climax tournament, having some really strong matches left and reight, here's the Finals match against "The Machinegun" Karl Anderson:
[video=dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xt3dse_kazuchika-okada-vs-karl-machine-gun-anderson-njpw-new-hq-version_sport?search_algo=2#.UMnPH6wfg1s[/video]
The rest of the year saw him defending his IWGP title shot earned by the G1 victory against the likes of Karl Anderson and Hirooki Goto:
Fans and press recognized his greatness, hence they chose him as the Wrestler of the Year:
Kazuchika Okada, one of Japanese pro wrestling’s biggest breakout stars in years, dominated the 2012 Tokyo Sports awards. Not only did he become the MVP aged just 25 but his memorable match with Tanahashi on June 16th, when Tanahashi won the IWGP Heavyweight Title back from Okada, was named Best Bout. Along with these two awards, Shinsuke Nakamura added a third for New Japan by winning the Technique Prize while New Japan legend Seiji Sakaguchi picked up a Lifetime Achievement Prize.
Tokyo Sports 2012 MVP: Kazuchika Okada
Tokyo Sports 2012 Best Bout: Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (6/16 @ Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium)
And now he's heading into 2013 with big plans on his mind, the first and the biggest step is the rubber match against Hiroshi Tanahashi, for the biggest strap in Japan. Will the torch be passed, will Okada become the new ace of the company? The biggest match of our age:
Sorry on tl;dr, but "The Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada is just an insanely great wrestler, and deserves his own worship thread. The master in storytelling department, strategies, psychology, etc. ~SWAG!~
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:jeritroll:
